Darling Lawrence

awrence,you were the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. How happy you made me!

All the fun drained out of the world when you died.

Whenever I hear someone playing the piano, I think of you. Whenever the cats do something silly,or the garden looks particularly lovely, I want to tell you about it, but you aren't there.

The week after your death I was out walking, and high in the sky I saw a jet trail disappearing into the clouds. I thought, it's you, vanishing from my life.

Good bye, dearest love.

His Life

Lawrence was born in England in 1948, and lived a good life, surrounded by people who loved him. His career took him from England to Italy to the US. He was brilliant and wonderful man, whose accomplishments were astonishingly varied--a mathmetician and engineer (see his resume here), he built everything from clocks and radio controlled airplanes to data management systems. And he loved to cook, loved to party, loved to play the piano. He died on April 18, 2013, after a long and hard struggle with prostate cancer.We will never forget him.

Lawrence and I met on the Patrick O'Brian list, where we met so many life long friends. Here is an account of that wonderful time so long ago.

On April 22, there was a Memorial service for Lawrence, with his family and friends sharing remembrances. Clicking on the link will open the page with the texts of the readings, and a link to the video of the event.

On July 13, 2013, we laid Lawrence's ashes to rest in the Rock Creek Cemetery, in Washington DC. Click here for the ceremony.